The secret of the next day, the next day and the next day

[瑤翰 김요한]

The secret of the next day, the next day,  and the next day

“The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walking, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35,36)

The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and finding Philip,  and said to him, Follow me. (John 1:43) 

Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”(John 1:49)

Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, believest you? you shall see greater things than these. And he said to him, Verily, verily, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.’” (John 1:50- 51)

The Gospel of John should not be viewed simply.

Of course, while reading other gospels, we must believe and be aware that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive and Emmanuel, is with us, but the Gospel of John is more serious.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ who is with us is the Word of Ho Logos who was in the beginning toward God.

The Gospel of John is the appearance of Almighty God, who created all things and continues them.

Not only did he appear 2,000 years ago, but he still appears with his spirit and life to the children of God who reverence him and  receive him.

Do you believe this?

Then, right now, humble your heart before him and believe that he is within you.

“Oh! Lord, did you come to me who was so ugly? No, you never left me, you have always been from the beginning until now. Please forgive me for forgetting you and living in vain.

Just like Jesus' parents who lost Jesus and hurried back to Jerusalem, we are always like that. We are thankful that the Lord made us his dwelling place and alwayes is in us, just as he dwells in his house.

I am thankful to the Lord who welcomes me to the point of tears when I think about the world a thousand times and then call his name just once.”

Shout like this.

The reason why God records a progressive roadmap in this important chapter 1 of the Gospel of John the next day, and the next day, and the next day, is because God's great secret is contained within it.

Jesus Christ is God, whether people believe it or not.

It is Jehovah God who said, I am I. He is God, the origin of creation and the ruler of all things, who says, I am the light, the bread of life, the way, the truth and the life.

John 1:29-51 tells us about the stages of revelation to what extent we can discover him from our human perspective after the Lord came as a human being.

The next day, and the next day, and the next day...

If we are not careful, John the Baptist could become a model for Christians.

If you go to a seminary, there are many people who say, I want to be like John the Baptist.

Unfortunately, John the Baptist was only a person who saw Jesus with his own eyes, made his path smooth, and fulfilled the mission of revealing him to Israel, and was not a disciple of Jesus.

Moreover, he was not actual witnesses of the resurrection through the death and being raised of Jesus Christ.

And he was a person who has never become one with the Lord Jesus Christ through the Spirit of truth.

Therefore, John the Baptist should never be a model for our faith or mission.

However, his spirit is something we must emulate.

But we must not overlook that even his disposition came from the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon him.

In John 1:29, an incident occurred  on  the first next day when John the Baptist saw Jesus and testified, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Clearly, Jesus was Azazel(scapegoat) who took away all the sins of the world. (Leviticus 16)

He took upon us all our sins and went to the cross on Golgotha Hill outside the camp, shedding blood and dying like a ransom lamb, thus taking up of all our sins.

And with his blood, he entered the heavenly sanctuary and presented it to God, thereby cleansing the heavenly temple. (Hebrews 9)

Even today, God looks at the blood and overlooks our sins.

And he has opened the way of life so that we can boldly approach the throne of God's grace according to the truth of Christ Jesus.

This is the atonement work of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Even now, the effect of his atonement continues.

It is as if he continues to bear the burden of our sins.

The effect of the atonement work accomplished once and for all continues to be applied by the living God and his Word.

This grace of atonement continues to apply to everyone until God says, Stop.

But only to those who accept him as Lord and Christ...

It is John the Baptist who foresaw Jesus’ atonement work and testified that he was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.

It is clearly a revelation from God.

Even now, there are many people who testify of Jesus Christ like John the Baptist.

For example, ‘Everyone, believe in Jesus, look at Jesus hanging on the cross, He is the one who has forgiven all of our sins. He is our Savior. And he is coming again, long and wait for him to come again’

Isn’t he just like John the Baptist?

However, on the next day in verse 35, John the Baptist was with his disciples and said him the Lamb of God.

Within a day his evidence developed.

Everyone, think about it.

The Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world was Jesus who came as a human, but in Revelation chapter 4, the Lamb of God sat on the heavenly throne and opens heaven, and in chapter 5, he opens the sealed book and receives the worship and praise of four spirit creatures, elders, and numerous angels.

This scene shows that he has succeeded in his ministry as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and has ascended to heaven, becoming the King of kings who rules over heaven and presides over the salvation and judgment of all people.

The One is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

All our salvation and blessings come from God and the Lamb.

Therefore, the difference between the confession of being ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ and the confession of being the ‘Lamb of God’ is literally heaven and earth.

And on that day, John the Baptist's disciples went to Jesus and stayed with him and became the Lord's disciples.

What the Lord said to them at that time was ‘Come and See'.

I encourage you to think deeply about the meaning of these words, Come and See.

No matter how far you follow him, that will be the revelation you have received from God.

One thing to remember here is that the revelation and mission of John the Baptist stopped here.

He could no longer follow Jesus. He was not a disciple of Jesus.

Therefore, he only testified about Jesus from an objective standpoint and did not go any further.

However, although they were disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus' disciples were with Jesus.

And they learn about him through his Word.

They are truly his disciples.

Therefore, their testimony in the Bible is very different from that of John the Baptist.

Andrew's confession upon meeting his older brother Peter changed immediately.

The testimony is "I have found the Messiah". (John 1:41)

It’s very different from John the Baptist, right?

So, even now, like John the Baptist, there are many people who show evidence saying, ‘Look at Jesus Christ on the cross, He is our Savior, believe in Him,’ on the other hand, there are someone like Andrew who directly testifies about the Lord Jesus Christ by saying, "I have met Christ".

Which side are you on?

Next, if you look at verse 43, ‘the next day’ appears again.

And Jesus changed his words from "Come and see" to "Follow me".

I advise you once again:

Let us deeply meditate together on the two words of the Lord: "Come and see" and "Follow me".

Let’s think about how far we have to go and how far we can see.

On the last next day, Jesus revealed himself as the One who heard Nathanael’s prayer (John 1:48) and received the confession through Nathanael that he is the Son of God and the King of Israel. (John 1:49)

Jesus Christ is now giving us further revelation.

He goes so far as to say, “Truly, truly, tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”. (John 1:51)

When will this event happen?

The eyes of faith depend entirely on the measure of God’s grace and the degree of revelation that has come to you.

However, ‘the next day, the next day, and the next day’ is not 6 days, but only 3 days.

The difference between the status of Jesus before the cross, 3 days ago, and Christ after the cross is enormous.

Compare the gap between the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and the Lamb of God who sits on the throne.

Where are your eyes directed now?

And how do you receive the words, “Come and see” and “Follow me”?

How far do you follow?

According to that dimension, the words will come near: “You will see the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The next day, the next day, the next day are three days, and in Chapter 2 immediately after that, three days later, at the wedding feast in Cana, an incident occurred where Jesus turned water into wine.

And it is connected to the incident in which Jesus said, "Destroy this stone temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (2:19).

Now, do you understand the meaning of the next day, the next day, and the next day?

As I say these words, I painfully realize once again the limitations of vocabulary and letters.

Although the expression‎ is insufficient, I pray that the Holy Spirit will supplement and complete it.

However, what I want to remind you once again is that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and that He is the Word (Ho Logos) who was in the beginning.

However, I am telling you that our perspectives on God may differ depending on the revelation and mission He has given us.

I am not saying that someone is better than another, but I would like to say that we should think about each person's grace and stature and move closer to the blessings promised in the Bible.

Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.

Translated by  Nancy Chung

COME AND SEE WORLD MISSION